The producer of Jana Nayagan, the much-anticipated Tamil film starring actor-turned-politician Vijay, has approached the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court division bench’s interim stay on CBFC certification, intensifying the legal drama surrounding the film’s release.
KVN Productions LLP on Monday filed a special leave petition challenging the High Court’s January 9 order, which halted a single-judge directive that had required the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to grant immediate censor clearance to the film.
Jana Nayagan, widely publicized as Vijay’s last film before his full-fledged entry into politics through his newly launched party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), was scheduled for a grand Pongal release on January 9. However, certification hurdles from the CBFC delayed its release, raising questions about political censorship and procedural fairness.
The controversy began when Justice PT Asha, sitting as a single judge of the Madras High Court, directed the CBFC to issue the censor certificate without delay. She held that the CBFC chairperson had no authority to refer the matter to the revising committee once the board had already decided to grant certification.
The CBFC immediately challenged this order, and a division bench comprising Chief Justice M M Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan stayed Justice Asha’s ruling just hours later. The court noted that the petition was filed on January 6, and the CBFC had not been given adequate opportunity to present its side before the single judge.
The division bench observed:
“There shall be a stay,”
and issued notice to the film’s producer, posting the matter for further hearing on January 21.
Appearing for the CBFC, Additional Solicitor General A.R.L. Sundaresan and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta (via video conferencing) argued that the January 6 letter from the CBFC—informing the producer about the referral to the revising committee—was never formally challenged in the writ petition. They contended that the single judge had overstepped by setting aside that communication suo motu.
The legal tangle has added to the intrigue surrounding Vijay’s transition from cinema to politics. With Jana Nayagan positioned as his swan song, speculation has been rife over whether the film’s political themes influenced the CBFC’s hesitation. The outcome of the case could have wider implications on the interface between cinema, censorship, and political speech in India.
